During the latter half of 1922, I uncovered another problem from the Bible—the problem of denominations. Do the Scriptures say that I should be a member of the Methodist Church? In 1 Corinthians 1 Paul exhorted the Corinthian believers not to be divisive by saying, "I am of Paul, and I of Apollos, and I of Cephas, and I of Christ." I began to consider: Was Wesley greater than Paul? If Paul rebuked the Corinthian believers for saying, "I am of Christ," surely for you to say that you are of the Presbyterian Church, while I am of the Methodist Church, and he is of the Baptist Church, is not scriptural.
At this time I was studying in a mission school. The school sent me as a delegate to a spring retreat and required on the application form that I state in what denomination I held membership. I wrote, "I am a Christian and I belong directly to Christ." They said, "Nevertheless, you are still a member of a denomination." I replied, "No, I am simply a Christian. The Bible does not say that I should be a member of any denomination." At that time I was determined not to confess with my mouth that I belonged to the Methodist Church. Whenever I was asked concerning this matter, I always replied, "I am a Christian."
One day while reading the Bible I was pondering this problem: Could I simply leave the denomination? Shortly after this I heard someone say that a certain department store went bankrupt. The conversation went like this: Whenever several people go into a business partnership, regardless of whether or not they are personally involved in the business of the store, once the business goes bankrupt, none can escape the consequences; everyone must share the responsibility of the bankruptcy. I realized from this conversation that as a member of the Methodist Church I was in a sort of partnership. Although in reality I did not take part in the system of the Methodist Church, in name I could not escape the consequences. If I wished to follow the Lord, not only must I refrain from being a member of the Methodist Church in deeds, but also I must have my name removed from the Methodist Church. Having become clear concerning this matter, I felt it necessary to discuss it with my mother, since originally it was she who placed my name there. My mother did not immediately approve of my intention, for she feared that the Western missionaries who were considered our good friends would be offended. My feeling was that we should not be afraid of people being offended by us; rather, we should be afraid of the One who is greater than men being offended by us.
One day I went by boat to Mawei to see Margaret Barber. I asked how she felt about my name being in the Methodist Church's book of life (what they called the church register). She replied, "I am afraid that among the names in that book of life many are dead and not a few are perishing." I said, "Should I have my name in a book of life on earth?" She replied, "If your name is recorded in the book of life in heaven, what good will an earthly book of life do you? And if your name is not recorded in the heavenly book of life, what will this earthly book of life profit you?"
I spoke to my mother persistently for two months regarding this matter, but still she would not agree. One day while my whole family was in the garden, I took the opportunity to speak to my parents. I said, "Is it scriptural to leave our name in the denomination?" They answered, "No." Again I said, "Is it our duty to obey the Bible?" "Yes," they replied. Then I pressed on, saying, "Then why do we delay and not obey the Scriptures?" They replied, "Very well. Do it; do it." Immediately, I drafted a letter, and my father personally wrote out the letter. After each of us signed it, I dispatched it by registered mail. In essence, the letter said this: "We have seen that sects are unscriptural and that denominationalism is sinful. Therefore, from this day on please remove our names from your book of life. We are doing this not because of any personal animosity, but simply because we wish to obey the teaching of the Scriptures. Our decision is final, and it will not be necessary to bring it up again. We still consider ourselves your friends. Besides our desire to obey the Bible, there is no other reason for our action."
Four days after the letter was mailed, several Western missionaries came to our home. They said, "One only hears of a church excommunicating its members, never of a member excommunicating himself from a church. What is the reason for your action?" We answered, "We have already explained our reason, and there is no need to discuss it further." The following day they asked the principal of a certain school to come speak to us. We said, "We have nothing to say. We are still your friends, but we wish our names to be removed from the record." Later, our pastor, the district superintendent, and the bishop all came asking whether we had taken this action because of baptism by immersion. They explained that if members of the Methodist Church wished to be baptized by immersion, there was no problem. We replied, "The Lord led us to do what we have done. You feel there is no need to be legal, but we feel we must obey the Lord at all cost."
It is not a question of arguing with others about baptism by immersion or about leaving the denominations. The only question is whether or not men are willing to obey the Scriptures. To be baptized by immersion and to leave the denominations are not great things; they are but two items among thousands that require our obedience. The main thing in the Scriptures is obedience.